I’ve started reading poetry collections this year, it’s somehow become a thing I do. This was by far and away the best poetry collection I’ve read in this, or possibly any year. There were no real “duds” and the exceptional verses really did stand out in an already great collection. The poems felt very universal while also seeming incredibly specific. The poet’s range and incisive observations lend the collection a broad and at the same time focused and minutely intentional tone. The language is of course beautiful, and every poem has one or two lines that really shine out and stick in your mind. Here is an example I haven’t stopped thinking about since I read it and cannot bear not including, it comes from the end of the poem “Embarrassing”

“Embarrassment is a tactic of war / in which we teach the other / to destroy themselves / while we can say / that our hands / are clean.”

I got chills reading that, it’s stunning stuff.

The author’s insistence on embracing his queerness as well (not instead of) as his Appalachian heritage is admirable and heartening. Especially given the current political climate in many Appalachian states. This is the kind of poetry collection I wish I had stumbled on as a middle/ highschooler, it’s genuinely optimistic in a way that doesn’t downplay the challenges LGBTQ people from this region face.

I would recommend this collection to just about everyone, especially if you’re a bit of an outsider and especially if you're from the Appalachian region. If you read one poetry collection this year, make sure it’s Gay Poems for Red States.